Well. Today is the day. In a couple of hours, a conscience vote in the House of Representatives will determine whether the fate of the abortion drug RU486 will rest with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, or our dear friend Tony Abbott. I know it's unlike me to go busting political caps in your dome, but after witnessing one of the most disgraceful speeches I've ever seen last night, the rage is boiling over.


See? Just the sight of him is enough to send you running for your fridge magnet.

Over the years I've become accustomed to his passive lying, arrogant stupidity, and painfully conservative far-right stance on pretty much everything. Last night, however, he took it up a notch. Many of you may be aware of the genuinely heart-felt speech that Peter Costello made earlier in the day, telling of the difficult decision he had to make when his pregnant wife lapsed into unconsciousness as a result of a brain abscess. He was advised that the pregnancy may hamper efforts to treat the problem, and without treatment, she may die. In essence, the old question of your baby's life or yours. I believe Neighbours is running a similar theme at the moment. Who said they weren't on the pulse?

I digress. In the end, Costello chose to do nothing, and by good fortune, both his wife and the child survived. He finished by saying that it was the hardest decision he's ever had to make, but he believes people should have the right to make that decision for themselves. I was really impressed. But wait.. Then Abbott comes moseying along. Guns a blazin', he proceeded to declare that Australia's abortion rate is a "legacy of unutterable shame". You know that habbit he has of repeating the same sentence over and over and making the chopping motion with his arm? Well, that kinda made up the bulk of his arguement. Sure it was dramatic, but for some reason it just didn't resonate with me. So...

Always a fan of a good, subtle hand of poker, Abbott has now clearly stated that if the fate of the drug falls into his hands, it will not see the light of day. I think the thing that frustrates me most about this.. Well, actually there's several things, but foremost, is that he's taken quite a base, democratic issue, and turned it into a meat-headed argument about the morals of abortion. Perhaps there's something about this kind of Christian right-winger, say, delusion on a grand scale, that won't allow them to rest comfortably with their views being their own. If you don't agree with the practice of abortion, fine. I respect that. But what makes you think you can go around imposing these views upon other people? We might be stupid, hell, some of us don't even mind those suss lookin' Muslim bastards.. But we retain the right to make our stupid, hell-bound decisions for ourselves. I know I'm getting all nostalgic now, but was democracy really that bad?

Anyway, the cards are down. What was once going to be a straight-forward vote for presiding power over the availability of RU486 has become, in essence, a vote for or against the right to abortion. Good on ya Tony. I'm sure your son would be proud of you. Wherever he is..

UPDATE: By an overwhelming majority, the bill to hand power of decision over to the TGA has been passed. My dwindling faith in our Parliamentary system has been restored. Partially. Well, a tiny bit. Okay not at all. But I think this is definitely a good result. And I must admit, I love the subtextual comment this makes on the ammount of faith Tony Abbott's colleagues have in him.